


Maelstrom

by SapphicReverie (Stella_STARgazer)



Category: Wentworth (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/F, Hints of Freakytits - Freeform, post-riot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 20:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20972258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stella_STARgazer/pseuds/SapphicReverie
Summary: Another alternate take on the riot. Joan chooses a different course of action.





	Maelstrom

**Author's Note:**

> I received a word prompt from @oceansinmychest on Twitter: KNEEL.
> 
> Here's my interpretation.... :)

The two way sizzles and cracks, like thunder’s warning call for the looming storm.

Dark eyes burn with anger as she watches the squall unfold on the CCTV screen. Her gut reaction had been to resist then neutralize the threat, but Hurricane Lucy threw a kink in things by pressing a dirty syringe to her little mouse’s throat. Panic flares in her gut as those wide ocean eyes peer into the camera, threatening to send a tidal wave of fear cascading from them. She knows the pleading look within them is meant explicitly for her. A sour shot of bile creeps up her throat, but she maintains a cool exterior despite the acrid sting. Anger flares to hate as she resigns to give up control in order to protect her beloved deputy.

“Alright, the unit is now open.” She snarls into the radio as she watches the inmates react on the screen. The first slides the gate open and the other three follow closely behind, Vera still in a choke-hold by the third hooded teal figure.

The officers inside appear from within, hands held high in surrender as they approach the group of prisoners at the exit. The first teal figure aggressively closes in and devests them all of their radios and batons before forcing them to retreat out of the unit and down the corridor. Their access now unrestricted, the miscreants move across the threshold.

“You are to leave Deputy Bennett outside and unharmed.” Joan barks into the two way; a last ditch effort to protect from afar. The last teal figure turns toward the camera, her thick fingers bringing the radio to her tea towel covered mouth, “But we’re not done playing with her just yet,” she goads with a menacing laugh.

Rage spreads like lava through Joan’s veins, sending a high pitched ringing in her ears. She slams the radio into Channing’s chest, “Call in your beloved SESG,” she yells as she shoves past him towards the door.

“Wh-where are you going?” He bellows incredulously behind her.

“To get Vera.” The fury in her voice makes the entire room cower.

Long legs carry her quickly through the dingy teal maze, as she moves predator-like through the fluorescent lit corridors. She’s not sure yet who’s behind this coup, she just vows that they’ll pay richly for challenging her authority and for threatening her precious right hand.

Approaching the slot, she slows her gait, stopping just around the corner as she hears muffled voices as they approach. Slipping quickly into a janitor’s closet, she closes the door just as they round the corner. She waits until the footsteps fade to silence and gives it another count of twenty before she slips wordlessly from the closet and heads into the unit. She moves down the row of cells quickly, peeking through the small rectangular windows as she goes. In the fourth one on the left, where Smith had been held, is where she finds her prize.

Her heart jumps into her throat when she sees Vera’s small body curled up on the cot, her head tucked firmly into the knees she’s drawn up tightly to her chest as she sits on the edge of the frayed mattress. Fumbling for the skeleton key on her belt, she unlocks the bolt and slips inside. Vera immediately lifts her head, shifting herself back against the wall, hands raised in a defensive manner. 

“Vera, it’s alright, it’s just me,” she whispers as she enters the small cell and closes the door. It takes a moment for Vera to register Joan’s face, before she finally drops her trembling hands like dead weight. Joan slowly approaches as Vera stares in a wide-eyed state of shock. A stream of blood drips down her cheek from a gash just below her left eye, mixing with the trickle of tears cascading from it.

“Are you hurt? Were you stuck?” Though her expression remains calm, her voice conveys a touch of worry. Glassy-eyed Vera peers up in her direction, “I don’t...think so,” she replies in a daze, absent-mindedly reaching for her neck. 

In a rare role reversal, Joan kneels before her deputy, though her knees protest the position. It’s a small price to pay to ensure her deputy’s safe. Gently she reaches for the collar of Vera’s jacket and shirt, pulling back the stiff material to check for any marks or scratches. In a bout of good fortune, the skin is unscathed. The anger in her abysmal eyes dissolves as she meets Vera’s gaze and sees the terror plastered on her ashen face.

“I...I thought they were going to kill me.” Vera whispers as her bottom lip begins to tremble. Suddenly a torrent of tears escape her seafoam eyes and she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around Joan’s ribs and burying her face into Joan’s neck, her narrow shoulders heaving with the force of her sobs.

Immediately Joan freezes, mouth agape, as she’s caught off guard by the unanticipated reaction and the initial discomfort of such an intimate embrace. Vera’s tears begin to soak her collar and she feels the heat of her breath as it comes in pants against her neck and she’s suddenly overcome with relief as she realizes how very differently the situation could have gone. The thought of Vera being badly harmed or killed makes her heart race and stomach churn violently.

As if a veil has been lifted, she finally recognizes that she can no longer run away from her emotions. With hands trained for violence, she slowly reaches up and returns the embrace, resting a porcelain cheek against the soft waves of Vera’s head as she gently cradles it into her neck with her left hand. She coos softly in Vera’s ear, offering comfort that she’s never had cause or confidence to give.

“I’m here now; I’ll protect you.”  _ Always. _

A tender kiss pressed to Vera’s crown seals the promise.


End file.
